To live in a red state takes years off your life.
You pass two years sooner to your afterlife. (1)
You are much less likely to take a vaccine,
And more likely shot in gun violence strife.

When COVID arrived back in 2019,
And sickness and death dominated the scene,
Red states and Trump voters showed higher death rates
As found in the data health scientists glean.

New vaccines were given in all of the states.
In red states, new vaccines engendered debates.
And those who refused to take new vaccines died;
Their rigid philosophies led to their fates.

Their core beliefs killed them. Was this suicide?
Those living in blue states had a smoother ride.
Trump took the vaccine and he weathered the storm. (2)
While his loyal MAGAs fell by the wayside.

If you live in red states: poor health is the norm.
Does that come from norms to which most folks conform?
Right wingers defend all their misinformed views,
Resisting all experts’ attempts to inform.

Those getting their health advice in their church pews,
And not from their doctors, may soon pay their dues.
Their trips may be hastened to their last reward.
Has this been the pathway more red staters choose?

(1) The average lifespan in “red” states is about two years shorter than in
“blue” states. Chronic diseases are more common, as is gun violence.
(2) You may not remember that Trump took the mRNA vaccine. Though he
contracted COVID 19, he did not die from it. Vaccines reduced both the
rates of hospitalization and death among all those who “got their shots.”